Tripura troopers to provide security for Karnataka polls

Agartala: Troopers of Tripura's elite counter-insurgency trained force, the Tripura State Rifles (TSR) will provide security during the upcoming assembly polls in Karnataka, an official said on Wednesday.

"Around 550 jawans (six companies) of the TSR led by commandant Prabir Majumder would go to poll-bound Karnataka in a day or two. Their deployment in the southern state would be at the discretion of the union home ministry," a senior Tripura police official told IANS.

The 224-seat Karnataka assembly elections will be held on May 5.

The official said: "Following a request from the union home ministry, the India Reserve (IR) Battalions of TSR were earlier sent to Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand to provide security during the assembly elections besides during Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010."

The TSR was constituted in March 1984 to deal with terrorism in Tripura. Seventy-five per cent of its troopers are from Tripura while the remaining are from across the country. At present, there are 13 TSR battalions in Tripura.

Out of the 13, nine are India Reserve Battalion category, which means they can be deployed anywhere in India as per the desire of the union home ministry.

"The TSR, whose formation and training have been modelled on the Border Security Force and Assam Rifles, held the credit to curb the four-and-half-decade-old terrorism in Tripura," the official added.